Linda’s Shortbread Bars Recipe

By Linda Farmer, December 17th, 2012

One of our favorite childhood Christmas traditions was enjoying the delicious and beautiful shortbread cookies my Mom made. She would put the light dough through a star-shaped cookie press and add a tiny piece of maraschino cherry in the center of those beautiful stars.

I set about coming up with a version of Mom’s recipe that was faster to put together without sacrificing the flavor and delicious aroma while it baked and this food processor “bar” version is the result. These bars aren’t as meltingly light as Mom’s cookies but they are delicious.

It’s important to measure the flour correctly as you would when making bread. Fluff the flour first then spoon lightly into the measuring cup and sweep off the excess. If you scoop from the flour bin, you will get too much and the shortbread will taste too floury.

When the shortbread comes out of the oven and while it is still hot, use a sharp knife to cut the shortbread into bars or squares. I use my cooling rack held in place on top of the baking pan as a guide to get straight lines. The shortbread is very rich so I cut mine into about 1 1/2-inch pieces.